Reflector device



Feb. 15, 1938. o. c. RITZ-WOLLR REFLECTOR DEVICE Filed Jan. 19, 1935l 2 sheets-sheet 1 Imfenlr,

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Fell 15, `1938 o. c.- RlTz-woLLER 2,108,446

REFLECTOR DEVICE Filed Jan. 19, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 15, 1938 l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEv Oliver lllierzlgo, lll. Application January 19, 1935', Serial No. 2,479

9 Claims.

My invention relates to' reilector devices and particularly to a form of device adapted for use on the sides and ends of a truck in position to catch the rays'from the headlights 'of an oncoming car and reflect such rays backwardly to the driver of such oncoming car for a warning as to the presence of the truck on or near the highway. It is one of the objects of my invention to provide a new and improved form and arrangement of parts comprising a reector device of. this type sol arranged and constructed as to give improved results with respect to the initial efficiency of the device for directing a ray backwardly toward its source, 4with respect toits sturdiness and-its degree of protection ,against breakage or distortion under the exceedingly hard conditions of 'use on a truck, and with respect to its protection against either temporary or permanent deterioration as a reflector by reason of the presence of moisture. I

- To these ends, it is one of the objects of my invention to provide such an improved arrangement of parts as to insure facility of manufacture whereby a high degree of precision may/be attained in manufacture of the devices upon a commercial scale without uduly increasing the4 cost ofthe article. It is another object of my invention to provide an improved combination'of cooperating rigid parts and resilient parts which Shall be .effective for housing the lens portions and protecting them from breakage, which shall continue to hold the parts in cooperative relation even if the housing may be distorted from its original condition, and which maybe relied upon for keeping `out moisture under any and all weather conditions. It is] another object of my invention to improve devices of this type in sundry details hereinafter pointed out. The preferred means by which I have accomplished my several objects are illustrated' in the`drawings and are hereinafter specifically described." That which I believe to be new and desire tocover by Letters Patent is set forth in theclaims.

-In the drawingsz- Fig. 1 is a front face view of the. preferred form of my device;

Fig. 2 is a central vertic 2-2 of Fien-1 Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are sectional views through portions of isolated parts of the device for better showing their construction; y Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view tln'ough a portion of the front pad of the device with a lens` in position opposite one of the openings through( al section taken at line opening for showing the relative siz'es of the P91198; Fig. '7 is a front face view .of a modified form of construction: l

Fig. 8 is a central vertical section taken on line 8--8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view through fragmentary portion of the -device as shown in Fig. 8 but showing the parts in' a preliminary position; and

Figs. 10 and 11 are perspective views of two of the elements of the structure shown separately for clearness of illustration.

Referring now to Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, in which corresponding partsare indicated by the same reference charactersI I6 indicates a casing member formed of sheet metal having a plurality of openings I6 in its front face, in the arrange-*- ment shown the casing member being pressed into form out of sheet metal. Immediately in rear ofthe front wall of the casing member I5, I have provided a. pad I1 of sponge rubber provided with a plurality of openings I8 therethrough in positions corresponding to those of the openings I6 in the front face of the housing memberl. In the openings I8 of the pad I1, I have provided a series of substantially spherical lenses I9, such lenses I9 being of substantially greater size than that of the openings I8 whereby it is necessary to stretch the rubber about the openings somewhat for the insertion of the lenses into position. The pad I1 is preferably molded complete with the openings i9 therethrough.`

'I'he lenses I9 are preferably formed of'glass of the desired color, being formed originally of substantially spherical form and being then given a high polish by well-known methods, which can be accomplished readily and cheaply with a high degree of success. The lenses I9 produced upon a commercial basis are of a high degree of accuracy as to their spherical form and are very hard so as toV withstand a hard blow from a hamm r or the like without breafkage.

In t e arrangement shown, I have provided Va. plate 20 in rear of the pad I1 and the lenses I9, the plate 20 being provided with openings in' positions corresponding to those in the front wall of the casing, the openings in the plate 20 being of such size as to insure thatv the pad i1 shall vltne'coxnpressed somewhat between the plate lili'l j-f and the front wall of the casing when the plate 20 lis pressed forwardly in thecasing into engagement withthe-lenses IQ//Inrear of the retainerin the arrangement shown is in the form of a plate 2| having a series of openings 22 therethrough, the metal around the openings 22 being pressed into oblique position so as to provide flanges 23 about the openings by which the effective thickness of the plate is increased. In rear of the spacer member 2|, I have provided a reflector 24 which in the construction illustrated is in the form of a disc of polished aluminum or chromium having forwardly concaved portions 25 arranged about the face ofthe member in positions corresponding to the positions of the lenses I 9. The curvature of the concaved portions 25 and the effectiveV thickness of the spacer member 2| are such that the concaved portions are concentric with respect to the spherical lenses I9. For holding the spacer member 2| and the reflector 24 in position with respectv to each other, I have provided lugs 25 on the plate 2|) which extend through suitable openings 21 and 28 in the spacer member and the reflector for preventing any substantial relative movement between the parts.

In the casing I5 in rear of the reiiector 24, I have provided a pad 29 of sponge rubber of such thickness that it normally extends some little distance beyond the rear face of the casing member I5. In rear of the pad 29, I have provided a sheet 30 of rubber and a metal plate 3| which are held in position with respect to the casing member I5 by means of a flange 32 carried by the casing member, the flange 32 being connected with the plate 3| by means of rivets 33 which in the arrangement shown are in the form of integrally formed grommets. The arrangement is such that when the back plate 3| is pressed into closure position the marginal portion of the sheet 30 acts as a gasket for providing a moisture-tight closure of the rear face portion of the housing or casing. The pad 29 is alsol substantially compressed so as to apply substantial pressure forwardly upon the reector 24, the spacing member 2 I, and the plate 20 so as to bring the plate 20 into tight engagement with the rear face portions of the lenses I9, whereby the pad I1 is compressed forwardly in addition to the compression produced laterally by the insertion of the lenses I 9. The result is that an effective moisture-tight closure is produced between the front wall of the casing and the lenses I9.

With the lenses I9 of highly accurate spherical form as producedupon a commercial basis rather than by a precision process, with the rear *face portions of the lenses and the front face of the reflector protected against the presence of moisture', and with the reector accurately formed and accurately positioned concentrically with respect `to the lenses, my device is highly efcient for the purpose for which it is provided. I have found in practice that a large proportion of the ray of light striking the front face of the reflector is returned to the source of light with only a fair degree of spreading of the ray such as is desirable for making the device effective as a warning signal. My construction is such that a. heavy blow can be applied to the lenses Without breakage, the resilient mounting of the lenses being such as to cushion the blow and prevent substantial damage.

My improved device as above described is so arranged and so organized that the parts can be produced readily and cheaply, and the assembly can. be effected very r-apidly by unskilled labor.

Referring now to the construction shown in Figs. 'l to 1l, 34 indicates a casing member similar to the casing member I5 having openings 35 in its front face. Immediately in rear of the front wall of the housing or casing member 34, I have provided a sheet of rubber 36 provided with openings 31 therethrough corresponding in position to'the positions of the openings 35 in the front wall of the casing member, such openings 31 being of considerably smaller size, however, than that of the openings 35. In rear of the sheet of rubber 36, I have provided a plurality of substantially spherical lenses 38 similar to the 'lenses I9 above described, the arrangement being such that when the forwardly tapered front portions of the lenses 38 are pressed forwardly so as to extend through said openings 35 and 31 into the position as shown in Fig. 8 the marginal portions of the sheet of rubber about the openings 31 are turned forwardly into the form` of flanges 39 which serve as resilient seats for the lenses 38 in the openings 35. The arrangement is such that when the lenses 38 and the rubber member 36 are pressed forwardly a moisture-tight closure is effected between the lenses and the front wall.

In rear of the lenses 38, I have provided a plate 40 having openings 4I therethrough corresponding in position to the position of the openings 35 in the front wall of the casing member. In rear of the plate 40, I have provided a reflector plate 42 which in the arrangement shown is formed of aluminum and highly polished on its front face. As is clearly shown in Fig. 11, the plate 42 lsprovided with a series of forwardly concaved portions 43 corresponding in relative position to the positions of the lenses 38 so that the concaved portions are adapted to fit over the rear end portions of the lenses. In rear of the reector, I have provided a compressible pad 44 which inthe arrangement shown is made of sponge rubber, the pad being of such thickness as normally to extend backwardly out of the casing member- 34. About the pad 44 on the rear face of an outwardly extending flange 45 of the housing or casing 34 I have provided a washer 46 of sheet rubber which is held in position by a back plate 41. As will be readily understood, the pad 44 is compressed substantially by the attachment of the back plate 41 in position. In the arrangement shown, the plate 41 is held in position by rivets 48 formed integrally with the flange 45 in the form of grommets.

As'wiil be readily appreciated from an examinnation of my improved construction, the reflector is held positively in backwardly spaced relation to the lenses at all times, the arrangement being such that one of the lenses and the reflector may be pushed backwardly together under heavy pressure without changing the backwardly spaced relation of the reflector with respect to the lenses, the resilient support for the reflector (the pad 29 or the pad 44 in the arrangement shown) being adapted to yield for permitting this result. Upon the removal of the backward pressure from `the lens, the resilient support serves to move the reflector' and the lenses quickly forward again into normal positionwith respect to the casing. If the backward movement of the parts with respect to the casing has been such as temporarily to destroy, the moisture-tight closure between the casing and the lenses, such moisture-tight closure is promptly :e-established upon the return movement of the parts.

It will be appreciated that the retainer plate 20 (or the retainer plate 40) which is of comparatively heavy sheet metal formation serves ing to prevent bending of the reflector when back-y as a' reinforcement for the metal reiiector, actward pressure is applied upon one or more of the lenses without a corresponding pressure upon the remaining lenses. The arrangement is such that when the abnormal backward pressure is. relieved upon the lenses the parts are brought back to normal operative position withoutv distortion or disarrangement otherwise. A

While I prefer to employ the form and arrangement of parts as illustrated in my drawings and asfabove described, it is to be understood' that my invention is not to be limited to such form and arrangement except so far as the claims may be so limited by the condition of the prior art. ,/g

I claimt- 1. In a. device .of the type described, the com.- bination of a casing member havingan opening in its front wall portion, a lens having a forwardly tapered. portion extending through said opening, a member of yielding resilient material surrounding the forwardly tapered portion of said lens and compressed. edgwi'se of the /wall between the tapered porti'on of the lens and the edge ofthe wall surrounding said opening when said lens and said resilient member are pressed forwardly, and means for holding said lens yieldingly in position and for tightly closing the casing in rear of the lens for preventing the entrance of water and comprising a' comparatively thick pad of yielding resilient material in rear of said lens adapted when pressed forwardly to apply forward pressure on said lens and said resilient member and adapted under normal conmovement of said lens, and means for holding 4 said pad ,compressed for normally applying forward pressure on said lens and said resilient member so as to hold said` resilient member also compressed. f

2. In a device of-/the type described, the combination of a casing member having a series of circular openings in its front wall portion,. a

memberformed of resilient yielding material in position'in said casing memberA adjacent tojsaid front wall portion and having Vopenings therein in centered registeringvposition with respect to the openings in said front wall portion, substantially spherical lenses seated 'in said openings in said resilient yielding member with their forwardly tapered portions extending through the openings in said front wall portion and serving when pressed forwardly to compress said resilient yielding member aty the marginal portions thereof about said openings betweenl said forwardly tapered portions of the lenses and said front wall p ortion, a reflector member in backwardly spaced relation to said lenses, means for applying yielding pressure forwardly onl said reector member ior pressing said lenses forward lwhereby an effective seal is produced adaptedl normally to prevent the entrance ofv moisture vbetween the lenses arid said front wall portion and whereby said lenses are cushioned with re.

spect to backward movement' in the'casing member, and means adapted by cooperation with the above mentioned parts to provide a-watertight seal for said casing member in rear of said lenses for preventing the entrance of moisture'from the rearto the lenses;

3. fIna device of the type described, the oombination of a casing member having aplurality of circularv openings inV its front wall portion, a substantially spherical lens seated in each of said openings and of substantially greater di-- by the wall portion in position with the major portion of the lens in rear of (said front wall portion, a comparatively' thick pad of yielding material having openings therethrough corresponding in position to the openings in said front wall `portion with the lenses positioned in the-openings in` the pad so that the pad engages the major part of the side wall portions of each of the'lenses with parts of the pad substantially compressed transversely between adjacent lenses, a reflector member in backwardly spaced relation rt/o said lenses, and means for applying forward pressure on said reflector and lenses and pad s o "as to compress the pad against the 4lenses and against the front wall portion of the casing and eter than that of the openings so as to be heldy by the wall portion in position with the maior portion of the lens in rear of said front wall portion, 'a comparatively thick pad of yielding material having openings therethrough corresponding in position to the openings in said front wall portion with the lenses positioned in the openi ings in the pad so that the pad engages the major part of the side wall portions of each of the lenses with parts of the pad, substantially compressed transversely between. adjacent lenses, a reflector member in rear of said lenses, means interposed between said reector member and said lenses adapted when pressed forwardly by pressure o n the reflector to press the lenses forwardly in fixed forwardly spaced relation to the reflector and to compress the pad against the lenses and against the front wall portion of the casing-for preventing the entrance of moisture between the wall portion and the lenses, a second comparatively thick pad of yielding material in said casing in rear of said reflector,l and means for closing the rear face of said casing member and pressing said second pad forwardly for preventing the entrance of moisture into contac with said reflector.

5. In a device of the type described. the combination of a casing member having a circular opening in its front wall portion, a sheet of exible material in rear of said wall portion having an opening therethrough of smaller size than that in said wall portion, alens seated in the openings in said wall portion and said sheet and of substantially greater size transversely than the opening in said `wall portion so as to limit the forward movement of the lens with respect to the wall portion for keeping 'the major portion ofthe lens in rear of said wall portion and forA pressing forward the marginal portion of said sheet about the opening in the sheet in the form of an annular flange between the lens and the to said front wall portion and having openings therein in correspondingly centered positions but of smaller size than the openings in said front wall portion, lenses seated in said openings having forwardly vtapered portions extending through the openings so as to force the marginal portions of said sheet about said openings forwardly in the form of flanges between the lenses and the front wall portion, and means for applying yielding pressure forwardly on said lenses so as to compress said sheet and for sealing the rear face of the casing member so as to prevent the entrance of moisture into contact with the rear portions of the lenses.

'7. In a device of the type described, the combination of a casing member having a series of circular openings in its front Wall portion, a sheet of rubber in said casing member adjacent to said front wall portion and having openings therein in correspondingly centered positions but of smaller size than the openings in said front wall portion, substantially spherical lenses seated in said openings with their forward portions extending through tlie openings so as to force the marginal portions of said sheet about said openings forwardly in the form offlanges between the lenses and the wall, and means for applying yielding pressure forwardly on said lenses so as to compress said sheet of rubber and for sealing the rear face of the casing member so as to prevent the entrance of moisture into contact with the rear portions of the lenses.

8. In a device ofthe type described, the combination of a casing member having a series of circular openings in its front Wall portion,- a sheet of rubber in said casing member adjacent to said front wall portion and having openings therein in correspondingly centered positions but of smaller size than the openings in said front wall portion, lenses seated in said openings having forwardly tapered portions extending through the openings so as to force the marginal portions of said sheet about said openings forwardly in the form of anges between the lenses and the front wallportion, a reflector member in backwardly spaced relation to said lenses, and means for applying yielding pressure forwardly on said reflector member for pressing said lenses forward so as to compress said sheet of rubber and for sealing the rear face of the casing member so as to prevent the entrance of moisture into contact with the front face of the reflector.

9. In a device of the type described, the combination of a casing member having a series of circular openings in its front wall portion, a sheet of rubber in said casing member adjacent to said front wall portion and having openings therein in correspondingly centered positions but of smaller size than the openings in said front wall portion, substantially spherical lenses seated in said openings with their forward portions extending through the openings so as to force the marginal portions of said sheet about said openings forwardly in the form of flanges between the lenses and the wall, a reflector member in said casing member having forwardly concaved portions in backwardly spaced relation to the respective lenses in concentric relation thereto,

l and means for applying yielding pressure forwardly on said reiector member for pressing said lenses forwardly so as to compress said sheet of rubber and for sealing the rear face of the casing member so as to prevent the entrance of moisture into contact with the front face of the reector.

OLIVER C. RITZ-WOILER. 

